Review: Hotel Fürstenhof Vienna

The main reason I booked the Hotel Fürstenhof is because it’s right by the Westbahnhof Railway Station. I figured that would come in useful for getting around Vienna, getting out to Schönbrunn Palace and at a pinch, taking a train to Budapest.

The first thing we notice about the hotel is that it’s chock full of character, it’s an older style building but well maintained and even has a black steel cage lift that Chris isn’t too sure about. Luckily we’re on the first floor so it’s not too many stairs to climb.

Room

After being checked in for two nights by the friendly man on reception and given instructions, we head upstairs to check out the room. It’s on the large side and fitted with the basics: bed, wardrobe, bedside tables and desk, there’s not a whole lot of personality but seems clean and comfortable and after my recent hostel experience I’m hoping there’s no bed bugs.

We head out to sightsee around Vienna and arrive back late from the opera around 11pm seeking a nearby restaurant. We try a pasta place across the road but they’ve closed the kitchen so settle for the homely looking Cafe Westend on the corner right next door to the hotel. After a cheap meal of omelette and pasta we stroll the few steps to the hotel.

I sleep fine, though Chris says a medley of church bells went off at around 7am, thankfully I didn’t hear them and the windows appear to be double glazed so would have blocked out some of the noise.

Breakfast

The breakfast costs 5.20 each and luckily Chris has a pile of coins that do the job. After staying in several nice hotels over the course of the month with breakfast included we’re expecting a little more for our money than the sparse selection of bread, jam, meat, cheese, juice and coffee that awaits. I’m surprised there’s no cereal but I can adapt. The bread rolls are fresh I’ll give them that.

The next morning we pay our money at reception again but the breakfast is even sparser, there’s no bread and no coffee. The man at reception hurriedly says the bread is coming so we grab a couple of juices and sit at a table to wait. Luckily we had huge schnitzels and I finished off most of the apple strudel at last night’s dinner so we’re not starving hungry. If we were we’d be out of luck.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Character hotel with original features
  • Clean and tidy
  • Location: Proximity to Westbahnhoff Railway Station which has U-bahn, trams and domestic trains (none to Budapest though, you have to go to Hauptbahnhof).
  • Close to Schönbrunn Palace via U-bahn
  • Good selection of nearby restaurants and cafes.

Cons

  • Breakfast: a little more selection would be good since you have to pay for it.
  • Water drainage in the bath is not quick.

Would I Go Back?

There was nothing particularly wrong with the hotel, it served its purpose purely on location so I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again but would probably go out for breakfast.